Doug, the reason the they have low air pressure in the plane is usually due to airframe age...Its a simple way to keep older planes flying and not have to pay for expensive repairs. You were gutsy to fly on that plane.

Have finished reading the report up to date and wanted to say thanks for the commitment. I enjoyed it greatly and your writing. I have only done a bit of riding in Europe but am more inspired to add to it and call by The motohotel.

So we landed in Vladivostok. Its my 3rd time here. A lot is going on here, as there is some big asian summit next summer, and they are building bridges over the bay, and the road to the airport is being rebuilt. Of course that means the road is a total mess now. So we haggled over sharing a cab to town, which is about a ˝ an hour away, & got a ride.
I had the cab drop me off near my friend Sasha’s house, where Poly has been impatiently waiting for me for about 5 days. I hadn’t seen her in a few months, so it was great to see her again. The next day, we start contacting the shipper about the bikes, everything is on schedule, the boat should arrive in a couple days. Poly has been doing a lot of siteseeing already, but she hadn’t seen several of the places I like, so we spent a couple days wandering the town. Ive spent a lot of time here waiting for boats to go to Japan & Korea, so I know the area pretty good.

We went down to the port, & visited a museum, where Poly told em she was my translator & they let her in for free. Hahaha
Some sites around town…..

Well, as all things Russian, the boat MAY get in this weekend, but we cant get the bikes until Monday.
Sasha, who is VP of the Iron Tigers MC, & Pirate, who is the Prez, invited us to go on a camping/fishing trip to the southern tip of Russia Island, to the south, on the Sea of Japan. So of course we went.

Pirate is a big importer of bikes, & ships them all over Russia. It’s a pretty good business.
We all got our gear together, & stopped to shop & stock up on the essentials (vodka & beer) oh, and cooking stuff. No need for food tho, as we will be catching fish (we hope)
Its about an hour & a half boat ride to the tip of the island

Pirate did some snorkeling, the water here is crystal clear. He found a sea cucumber. They claim they are edible, but we all passed on trying it.

Then when it was dark, we went out after some squid. I’d never fished for those before. Poly stayed on shore, as she was tired of the bobbing boat. So was I, but I had to try it some more.

Squid jigs

It was fun, & we all caught several. So were out in the sea of japan, bobbing in the waves, & for some reason (beer maybe?) Gena was sitting on the edge, & fell in!
The other guys were looking away, but I saw him, & grabbed him & his pole, but I couldn’t pull him back in. The other guys saw the commotion, but started laughing so hard they were no help. Gena was laughing also. The waves were several feet high, & holding onto him almost pulled me over also. Finally the guys helped drag him back in. And I didn’t drop his fishing rod either J
Sometimes it sucks to be the sober guy.
It was funny tho, but all I could think about was sharks & shit like that. It was windy, & he was cold, so not long after, we headed back to camp with a good pile of squid.

Finally, the boat has arrived, but theres no dock space for it yet. Shit!
So we had a couple more days to kill in Vladi.
We went to visit Lucy, the Patch Queen, as I wanted to get my Road of Bones patch

Of course theres the gold one (for OSR) and the silver (no OSR)

But as Im weird, and did it on a Harley, I had mine custom made, Black & Orange!

We picked it up the next day, & took Lucy out to lunch. She’s a great girl, & a lot of fun. Anyone heading that way should stop in & say hello.

Finally, the boat docked, & we met up with Max to get the bikes.
But, as a foreigner, Im not allowed in the port. WTF? Wasn’t a problem in Magadan.
But Max could, so he went in to deal with the bullshit. Of course it took 4-5 hours to get the papers done, which I cant understand, as they didn’t cross a border, but hey. Its RUSSIA!
We FINALLY got the bikes out, & went to the Tigers clubhouse to wash them (was worried about salt air after being on the deck of the boat) and change the oil in the BMW.

Ben from Tennessee’s bike was there, & they gave it a bath before shipping it.

And the dirtster got a much needed bath

Finally, after almost a week in Vladi, we hit the road heading west……..